It is common practice to provide a closure panel such as a hood for closing a vehicle engine compartment, the hood being hinged to the vehicle body for movement between an extended position removed from the engine compartment and a retracted position where the hood closes the engine
compartment to protect it from weather, dirt and debris. In the extended position, the hood provides access to the engine compartment for maintenance and inspection of the engine compartment and it is therefore required to provide means for supporting the hood in such an extended position.
Commonly, a prop is pivotally connected at one end to the vehicle body adjacent to the engine compartment and has a free end which is selectively engaged with a portion of the vehicle hood, such as a receiving aperture. One problem which is associated with vehicle hoods is that the operator must have one hand free to raise and support the hood in the extended position until the free end of the prop is engaged in the receiving aperture by another hand.
Another problem which arises is that since there is no feature to lock the prop rod in the hood, unintentional disengagement is possible, and if it becomes disengaged by a sudden movement of the vehicle, vibration or wind, the hood will suddenly be released and close the compartment, and perhaps injure an operator. Also, there is little feedback to the user regarding if the prop rod is fully engaged in the receiving aperture or not, allowing greater possibility of partial engagement due to user operational error, which increases the chance of accidental unintended disengagement. One of the objects of this invention is to provide a prop assembly which will alleviate these problems.